


Ravenous

by The_Half_Blood_Guardian



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Creepy, Gen, Nogitsune Effects, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, hunger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26763637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Half_Blood_Guardian/pseuds/The_Half_Blood_Guardian
Summary: It starts after they defeat the Nogitsune. Stiles is hungry. He'salwayshungry. (Spoilers through season 4 episode 3.)
Relationships: Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	Ravenous

Stiles doesn't notice it at first. Not when he's too preoccupied with healing and socializing with friends that are finally safe from him and the ever-present cloud of gloom that hovers over everyone in the wake of Allison's death.

It's when that cloud begins to fade with time and distractions that it becomes more noticeable.

He's hungry. He's _always_ hungry.

It's not like he's been eating less than normal, either. If anything, he's been eating more lately in order to regain the weight lost while the Nogitsune had been wreaking havoc with his life.

He eats breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day without fail. His stomach doesn't growl, he's gained back some of the weight he lost and, physically, he looks as healthy as ever. He's long since learned how to hide his pain from Scott when necessary, and while his friend's now heightened senses can easily pick up on physical injuries or ailments, Stiles is still perfectly capable of hiding emotional ones.

He thinks he might actually be able to keep this from his friends long term, keep them from worrying about him, keep himself from causing them any more stress than he already has.

But it gets worse.

He goes to the vending machine between classes, grabs peanuts and Doritos and Goldfish crackers and stuffs them into his backpack. He hides in any semi-private corner he can find and rips open the packages, pouring them into his mouth.

He digs into sandwiches and hot wings and curly fries, barely even chews before swallowing when he can get away with it.

The raw skin at the back of his throat and the cuts on the roof of his mouth from when he eats crunchy foods too quickly barely even distract from the yawning chasm inside his gut.

And still the hunger gnaws at him.

He goes to bed hungry, falls asleep with tears of pain drying on his cheeks and his arms wrapped tightly around a stomach that is physically filled but somehow still starving.

His hands shake, no matter how he tries to still them, and he's always, always tired.

He catches his friends looking at him, concerned, and all he can think is that he's failed.

* * *

They're at practice when something changes. There's a smirking freshman, Liam Dunbar, whose talent seems a bit too extraordinary to be natural, and who is just aggravating enough to distract Stiles from his hunger. He grasps the distraction with everything he's got, focusing all his attention on the kid so that he can ignore, even for a moment, the constant pain in his stomach.

He rallies Scott against Dunbar, boosts his friend's competitive spirit and helps channel it into defending his place as team captain.

Then Scott accidentally knocks into the kid's shoulder, and Dunbar goes down hard, landing at exactly the wrong angle. Stiles swears he can hear something snap, and Dunbar cries out, clutching his ankle.

Stiles races forward and helps Scott hoist Dunbar up, and the pain that has been a constant for so long dulls. Without thinking, he pulls off one of his gloves to get a better grip on the kid's arm, and his hunger begins to disappear almost immediately.

He is confused for a moment. Then he sees the black veins running along his hand and up his arm, and remembers the same hand, digging into the side of his best friend's face while a creature controlling his body twists the blade skewering Scott, drawing out the agony it caused, as well as the pain of Isaac, who had been admitted to the hospital with electrical burns, and their coach, with an arrow to the gut, and finally the pain of a dying deputy who'd been caught in the blast of a shrapnel bomb.

Stiles blinks, and he is no longer trapped inside his own mind, but standing back on the lacrosse field, staring at his hand as he helps carry an injured underclassman. Before he can think to hide his hand in his glove again, the black lines fade. Another type of pain blooms in his stomach as realization dawns on him.

For the very first time since the whole nightmare with the Nogitsune started, he feels _full_.


End file.
